What do you think?
Rate this book
Elena Standish #1
Death in Focus
In the start of an all-new mystery series set in pre–World War II Europe, an intrepid young photographer carries her dead lover’s final, world-shattering message into the heart of Berlin as Hitler ascends to power.“Thrilling . . . reminiscent of works by Eric Ambler and Graham Greene.”—The Wall Street Journal On vacation from London on the beautiful Italian coast, twenty-eight-year-old Elena Standish and her older sister, Margot, have finally been able to move on from the lasting trauma of the Great War, in which the newly married Margot lost her husband and the sisters their beloved brother. Touring with her camera in hand, Elena has found new inspiration in the striking Italian landscape, and she’s met an equally striking man named Ian. When Ian has to leave unexpectedly, Elena—usually the more practical of the sisters—finds she’s not ready to part from him, and the two share a spontaneous train trip home to England. But a shocking sequence of events disrupts their itinerary, forcing Elena to personally deliver a message to Berlin on Ian’s behalf, one that could change the fate of Europe. Back home, Elena’s diplomat father and her secretive grandfather—once head of MI6, unbeknownst to his family—are involved in their own international machinations. Worried when Elena still hasn’t returned from Italy, her grandfather starts to connect the dots between her change in plans and an incident in Berlin, where Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich are on the rise. It seems the message Elena delivered has forced her into a dangerous predicament, and her grandfather’s old contacts from MI6 may be the only people who can get her out alive—if Elena can tell the difference between her allies and her enemies. New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry merges family secrets with suspense on the world stage, as darkness bubbles under the surface of a Europe on the brink of change. In these complicated times, Elena emerges as a strong new heroine who learns quickly that when nothing is certain, she can rely only on herself.Praise for Death in Focus “Masterful! It’s exceedingly rare for an author to have the talent to blend classic elements of a thriller with compelling family dynamics and geopolitical intrigue, but Anne Perry pulls it off like the consummate pro that she is. And, on top of all that, Death in Focus is written in her unique literary voice. I guarantee you’ll love Elena Standish. Brava!” —Jeffery Deaver, author of The Never Game
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 18, 2019
1334 people are currently reading
8999 people want to read
About the author
Anne Perry
362 books3,377 followersAnne Perry, born Juliet Hulme in England, lived in Scotland most of her life after serving five years in prison for murder (in New Zealand). A beloved mystery authoress, she is best known for her Thomas Pitt and William Monk series.
Her first novel, "The Cater Street Hangman", was published in 1979. Her works extend to several categories of genre fiction, including historical mysteries. Many of them feature recurring characters, most importantly Thomas Pitt and amnesiac private investigator William Monk, who first appeared in 1990, "The Face Of A Stranger".
Her story "Heroes," from the 1999 anthology Murder And Obsession, won the 2001 Edgar Award For Best Short Story. She was included as an entry in Ben Peek's Twenty-Six Lies / One Truth, a novel exploring the nature of truth in literature.
Series contributed to:
. Crime Through Time
. Perfectly Criminal
. Malice Domestic
. The World's Finest Mystery And Crime Stories
. Transgressions
. The Year's Finest Crime And Mystery Stories
Her first novel, "The Cater Street Hangman", was published in 1979. Her works extend to several categories of genre fiction, including historical mysteries. Many of them feature recurring characters, most importantly Thomas Pitt and amnesiac private investigator William Monk, who first appeared in 1990, "The Face Of A Stranger".
Her story "Heroes," from the 1999 anthology Murder And Obsession, won the 2001 Edgar Award For Best Short Story. She was included as an entry in Ben Peek's Twenty-Six Lies / One Truth, a novel exploring the nature of truth in literature.
Series contributed to:
. Crime Through Time
. Perfectly Criminal
. Malice Domestic
. The World's Finest Mystery And Crime Stories
. Transgressions
. The Year's Finest Crime And Mystery Stories
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 602 reviews
January 10, 2020
This is the first installment of a new mystery series by Anne Perry, set in 1933, during the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Elena Standish, a young British photojournalist is vacationing in Amalfi with her sister Margot. They are both recovering from the loss of their brother and Margot the additional loss of her husband in WWI.
Elena becomes involved with Ian Newton, a handsome stranger with whom she falls in love with but he is ultimately murdered. His dying words to Elena send her on a mission to Germany which tests her bravery and fortitude in midst of the horror of the rise of the Nazis.
The history in this time period was really brought to life and especially horrifying as the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party were coming into power and the helplessness of those who realize what is coming but lack the power to stop it.
This mystery was really suspenseful and I look forward to the next mystery in this new series.
Elena becomes involved with Ian Newton, a handsome stranger with whom she falls in love with but he is ultimately murdered. His dying words to Elena send her on a mission to Germany which tests her bravery and fortitude in midst of the horror of the rise of the Nazis.
The history in this time period was really brought to life and especially horrifying as the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party were coming into power and the helplessness of those who realize what is coming but lack the power to stop it.
This mystery was really suspenseful and I look forward to the next mystery in this new series.
December 27, 2019
A new series by Perry,, who seems to have had enough of Pitt and Monk. But I mentioned in reviewing of one of the Daniel Pitt books,that I find him less engrossing than I do his father, and the same applies here with Elena, whom I find to be a pretty weak character. The plot twists at the end are less than believable, and if Perry insists on continuing this series, I hope that future volumes are written to the high standard that has marked her work for so long.
November 7, 2019
First Sentence: Elena narrowed her eyes against the dazzling sunlight reflected off the sea.
On a vacation in Italy with her sister Margot, Elena Stanford meets Walter Mann and Ian Newton. An immediate attraction causes Elena to go with Ian to Berlin after a message compels him there. A shocking event and a request from Ian sends Elena on to Berlin, and into a danger from which she may not escape.
Perry masterfully sets the stage, lulling one into a sense of elegance, music and possible romance. How effectively she dispels one of that notion. She describes the emotional environment of the time, --"Fifteen years after the war, everyone still had their griefs: loss of someone, something, a hope or an innocence, if not more. And fear of the future."--conveying the almost frenetic gaiety and desperation for emotional connection so well. Perry is such an evocative writer, and her characters are dimensional and interesting, but it's her perspective which causes one to pause, consider and want to share what one has read with others. She also understands pacing; taking one seamlessly from tranquility into the threat of danger.
The story is told from several POVs. One may smile at the timelessness dismissiveness with which the younger generation considers the older one, and of Elena's brother's view of her talent and ambition. Elena's resourcefulness, strength, and determination; a hallmark of Perry's female characters, is impressive even though one may question the suddenness of Elena's decisions.
There is great lyricism to Perry's writing, particularly in her descriptions of nature, yet there is also a touch of pathos. In 1933, one is witnessing the rise of Hitler, Mussolini's move toward fascism. It is somewhat painful to realize how much of the 1930s are reflected in that which is happening today. The book does have a strong historical and political message. While some may object and possibly be offended, others may decide to learn from it –"Hitler is either assuming more power for himself or appointing bloody awful men to do it for him."
It is Perry's description of those who have been in a war and suffer from what we now know as PTSD, and her portrait of the time's events—"The violence is increasing, and the oppression. They're building camps to put prisoners in, not people who've committed crimes, but people who are born guilty of being …" that truly brings to bear the reminder that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
When Perry switches gears, it is sudden, surprising, and very effective. She triggers our suspicions and then makes us question them.
The plot isn't perfect. There are points of repetitiveness, a lack of focus, and what feels to be plot holes. The female characters are occasionally too trusting, but that's part of the plot. On the other hand, there is excellent suspense and a very effective sense of danger. One has a real sense of the fear people experienced during this time. Elena's determination to photograph the events she witnesses, and then to keep the film safe, were a strong element one hope to see continued. One must give Perry credit for making this time in Berlin painfully real and for teaching us details of history we've not known.
"Death in Focus" is a somewhat painful, but highly relevant read. It does contain a well-done red herring, and a wicked twist leading to a very good ending.
DEATH IN FOCUS (HistSusp-Elana Stanford-Europe-1933) – G+
Perry, Anne – 1st in series
Ballantine Books – Sept 2019
On a vacation in Italy with her sister Margot, Elena Stanford meets Walter Mann and Ian Newton. An immediate attraction causes Elena to go with Ian to Berlin after a message compels him there. A shocking event and a request from Ian sends Elena on to Berlin, and into a danger from which she may not escape.
Perry masterfully sets the stage, lulling one into a sense of elegance, music and possible romance. How effectively she dispels one of that notion. She describes the emotional environment of the time, --"Fifteen years after the war, everyone still had their griefs: loss of someone, something, a hope or an innocence, if not more. And fear of the future."--conveying the almost frenetic gaiety and desperation for emotional connection so well. Perry is such an evocative writer, and her characters are dimensional and interesting, but it's her perspective which causes one to pause, consider and want to share what one has read with others. She also understands pacing; taking one seamlessly from tranquility into the threat of danger.
The story is told from several POVs. One may smile at the timelessness dismissiveness with which the younger generation considers the older one, and of Elena's brother's view of her talent and ambition. Elena's resourcefulness, strength, and determination; a hallmark of Perry's female characters, is impressive even though one may question the suddenness of Elena's decisions.
There is great lyricism to Perry's writing, particularly in her descriptions of nature, yet there is also a touch of pathos. In 1933, one is witnessing the rise of Hitler, Mussolini's move toward fascism. It is somewhat painful to realize how much of the 1930s are reflected in that which is happening today. The book does have a strong historical and political message. While some may object and possibly be offended, others may decide to learn from it –"Hitler is either assuming more power for himself or appointing bloody awful men to do it for him."
It is Perry's description of those who have been in a war and suffer from what we now know as PTSD, and her portrait of the time's events—"The violence is increasing, and the oppression. They're building camps to put prisoners in, not people who've committed crimes, but people who are born guilty of being …" that truly brings to bear the reminder that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
When Perry switches gears, it is sudden, surprising, and very effective. She triggers our suspicions and then makes us question them.
The plot isn't perfect. There are points of repetitiveness, a lack of focus, and what feels to be plot holes. The female characters are occasionally too trusting, but that's part of the plot. On the other hand, there is excellent suspense and a very effective sense of danger. One has a real sense of the fear people experienced during this time. Elena's determination to photograph the events she witnesses, and then to keep the film safe, were a strong element one hope to see continued. One must give Perry credit for making this time in Berlin painfully real and for teaching us details of history we've not known.
"Death in Focus" is a somewhat painful, but highly relevant read. It does contain a well-done red herring, and a wicked twist leading to a very good ending.
DEATH IN FOCUS (HistSusp-Elana Stanford-Europe-1933) – G+
Perry, Anne – 1st in series
Ballantine Books – Sept 2019
November 6, 2019
I rarely give up on a book, but I stopped this one—and early on. When I first started reading, I thought it seemed awfully romance-y for a mystery, but I am fascinated by the between-the-wars period, so I kept going. But then I got to this passage, part of the description of the lead character’s date with a man she’s just met:
“She leaned back and looked up at him. He had remarkable eyes. Did she see the pain of memory in them, or just imagine it mirroring her own? He held her closer again, more gently. Perhaps he had lost someone, too. Who hadn’t? They should hold each other more tightly, and dance more perfectly, drowned in the music.”
For my taste, that’s just way too schmaltzy and overwrought.
I read a couple of Anne Perry books many years ago, but I’m not much interested in the Victorian era, and I think that’s why I didn’t continue; I don’t really remember. I know she is a very popular author and I don’t imagine her writing style has changed a lot, so Anne Perry fans will probably like this new series just fine. It’s just not for me. I’m so glad I only borrowed it from the library and didn’t spend money on it.
“She leaned back and looked up at him. He had remarkable eyes. Did she see the pain of memory in them, or just imagine it mirroring her own? He held her closer again, more gently. Perhaps he had lost someone, too. Who hadn’t? They should hold each other more tightly, and dance more perfectly, drowned in the music.”
For my taste, that’s just way too schmaltzy and overwrought.
I read a couple of Anne Perry books many years ago, but I’m not much interested in the Victorian era, and I think that’s why I didn’t continue; I don’t really remember. I know she is a very popular author and I don’t imagine her writing style has changed a lot, so Anne Perry fans will probably like this new series just fine. It’s just not for me. I’m so glad I only borrowed it from the library and didn’t spend money on it.
January 10, 2022
This is a historical fiction mystery book, and this is the first book in the Elena Standish series. This book took a long time to pull me in, but the second half of the book was really good. I have to say I also had trouble caring about the characters in this book, but by the end I did cared about the characters. I won an advance copy of this book for a goodreads giveaway, but this review is my feelings on this book.
October 15, 2019
I was disappointed. I was hoping for a book as well written and compelling as Perry's World War I series which began with No Graves As Yet. This novel lacked the great characters and suspense. I knew who the murderer/assassin was after the second victim died, and I expected the book to end as it did. I didn't especially care for Elena, the main character, and there was too much repetition about the "secret" work Lucas Standish and Peter Howard did during the first war. Say it once, say it twice, and then STOP. I think Death in Focus may be the first in a planned series about World War II. If I'm absolutely desperate - ill, alone, and have read everything in my house, including the cereal box - I may read the next one. Not recommended.
May 2, 2022
I met Anne Perrry last month and had a wonderful chat with her. I told her my favorite series by her is the Reavely's, her WWI series. She told me it was based on her grandfather who was a chaplain in the trenches in WWI. This new series is post WWI, and we are taken to Germany in time to watch a book burning. Elena Standish, a budding photographer, is our heroine and about to embark on many adventures I believe. I already have book 2 to read soon.
Perry really brings 1930's
Berlin to horrible life as Elena is framed for an assassination. There is a roller coaster of a ride in her escape and, as usual for Perry, the whole mystery is resolved in a surprising fashion at the very end of the book.
Perry really brings 1930's
Berlin to horrible life as Elena is framed for an assassination. There is a roller coaster of a ride in her escape and, as usual for Perry, the whole mystery is resolved in a surprising fashion at the very end of the book.
September 26, 2019
The protagonist, Elena Standish, has made mistakes that have caused lasting damage to herself and her family. Unfortunately, she keeps repeating the same basic mistakes that come with inexperience and naivete. While Perry is not going to cut her main character a break, she does give her the spirit and determination to bring a house of cards down all around her. She falls in love in a minute, she jumps on a train with a self-imposed challenge to slay the perceived dragons and in doing so exposes many to possible harm. She takes a few hard knocks and gives back in kind. It could have happened; so many more extraordinary stories have come out of the time of Hitler’s ascent to ultimate power. The pervasive and eternal question of moral retreat, is it worse to kill or stand by and watch it happen without intervening? That dilemma is all over this book.
A little bit dated, a little bit confusing, a little bit unbelievable. Anne Perry’s latest foray into the mystery/thriller genre with new characters left me basically disappointed. How many questions can any person pose and answer within the space of a page or a minute? It turns out many and I wanted to scream “Stop it right now”.
A little bit dated, a little bit confusing, a little bit unbelievable. Anne Perry’s latest foray into the mystery/thriller genre with new characters left me basically disappointed. How many questions can any person pose and answer within the space of a page or a minute? It turns out many and I wanted to scream “Stop it right now”.
September 24, 2019
This was a promising start to a new series by the author of one of my favorite series (Charlotte and Thomas Pitt). I loved the historical detail. I studied abroad twice in Germany during college and am fascinated by Germany between the wars. She captured the essence of the Times perfectly, in my opinion, and really avoided anachronistic dialogue and thoughts. My favorite character was Lucas Standish by far, and also Josephine.
I did have a difficult time relating to Elena at times. She just didn’t seem to be at all how Lucas viewed her. I found her blind trust in a series of men (Ian, Jacob, Walter) to be baffling, especially in light of her past. The part of her I loved the most was her photography. Her passion and knowledge came across beautifully.
Overall, this was a great read, and I look forward to seeing where this series goes! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital copy.
I did have a difficult time relating to Elena at times. She just didn’t seem to be at all how Lucas viewed her. I found her blind trust in a series of men (Ian, Jacob, Walter) to be baffling, especially in light of her past. The part of her I loved the most was her photography. Her passion and knowledge came across beautifully.
Overall, this was a great read, and I look forward to seeing where this series goes! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital copy.
December 2, 2019
This is not a series I will be coming back to. Not unless future books are about Grandma Josephine.
There's no way Elena can live through another novel. Not unless she is going to suddenly develop some brains.
*Edit*
Questions about MI-6 and its existence during the time frame of this novel have caused me to do a little extra research. That research has made me re-think my rating. I've removed a star as a result. Either Perry and her publishers thought readers would be too stupid to put two and two together or they didn't do any research of their own. Or they just figured nobody would pay enough attention to recognize the glaring errors. Whatever the reasons, someone got this wrong.
There's no way Elena can live through another novel. Not unless she is going to suddenly develop some brains.
*Edit*
Questions about MI-6 and its existence during the time frame of this novel have caused me to do a little extra research. That research has made me re-think my rating. I've removed a star as a result. Either Perry and her publishers thought readers would be too stupid to put two and two together or they didn't do any research of their own. Or they just figured nobody would pay enough attention to recognize the glaring errors. Whatever the reasons, someone got this wrong.
December 18, 2020
I was looking forward to a new series by this author set in a different historical period, but I must say I was disappointed. This would have worked with a strong, resourceful, intelligent, independent heroine, but Elena is none of that. Actually, although the series is supposed to be centered around her, it is actually about everyone trying to help her get out of trouble, including men she has just met already willing to risk their lives for her. She is nothing like Hester and Charlotte, the main female characters in Perry’s most popular series. I won’t be reading the sequel, unless there is more about Grandma Josephine’s career during the war - *she* should be the heroine of her own series!
September 16, 2019
Interbellum intrigue!
What would you do if you'd been having a grand old time on the Amalfi Coast and then discovered a body in a hotel laundry cupboard. It's 1931, Elena Standish Is working as a photographer at an economics conference. Her sister Margot, who marches to the beat of her own drum, came along for the ride. The opening scene captures this so vividly. At some point Elena decides to join the young man, Ian Newton, who was with her when the body made its presence felt, on a journey to Berlin. Only her companion, that oh so nice young man, is shot on the train. With his dying breath he informs Elena that he's trying to stop an assassination of a top member of the Nazi party in Berlin. His reasons seem lucid so Elena decides to Cary forward with Ian's task.
What we find out as the story continues is that Elena has had a somewhat unfortunate encounter with another man when she was working with the Foreign Office in Paris, embarrassing to her father as a high ranking Foreign Office official, and devastating for Elena. She had been asked to leave.
Along with this it comes to light that Elena's grandfather Lucas, had been the head of MI16 during the World War I, and still has contacts in the service. Some of those contacts are worried about the rise of Hitler and Nazism and of Oswald Mosley's influence in England.
What Elena sees in Berlin, the dangers she finds herself in, are horrendous and as she experiences first hand the lies and dangers behind Hitler's rise to power. (All the time Elena is photographing her journey).
A complex novel full of intrigue and human interest that lays the ground for what I am sure will be, in inimitable Anne Perry style, a startling new series set in this Interbellum period, that of Elena Standish.
I was struck by the almost mantra spoken of various ways throughout, Never Again, 'there should never be another war like the last one.' And one can sympathize with the British people in their memories of anguish, and their hopes that this had been the war to end all wars. We of course know differently. This works well into the way Perry's novel develops.
Strong female leads, old school staunch combatants, a family that has more than carried its share of secrets and heartbreak from WW1 into a new and welcomed age that on the surface seems all that was hoped for, and is in reality completely alien to those hopes. All give an authenticity to this pre World War II thriller!
A Random House ARC via NetGalley
What would you do if you'd been having a grand old time on the Amalfi Coast and then discovered a body in a hotel laundry cupboard. It's 1931, Elena Standish Is working as a photographer at an economics conference. Her sister Margot, who marches to the beat of her own drum, came along for the ride. The opening scene captures this so vividly. At some point Elena decides to join the young man, Ian Newton, who was with her when the body made its presence felt, on a journey to Berlin. Only her companion, that oh so nice young man, is shot on the train. With his dying breath he informs Elena that he's trying to stop an assassination of a top member of the Nazi party in Berlin. His reasons seem lucid so Elena decides to Cary forward with Ian's task.
What we find out as the story continues is that Elena has had a somewhat unfortunate encounter with another man when she was working with the Foreign Office in Paris, embarrassing to her father as a high ranking Foreign Office official, and devastating for Elena. She had been asked to leave.
Along with this it comes to light that Elena's grandfather Lucas, had been the head of MI16 during the World War I, and still has contacts in the service. Some of those contacts are worried about the rise of Hitler and Nazism and of Oswald Mosley's influence in England.
What Elena sees in Berlin, the dangers she finds herself in, are horrendous and as she experiences first hand the lies and dangers behind Hitler's rise to power. (All the time Elena is photographing her journey).
A complex novel full of intrigue and human interest that lays the ground for what I am sure will be, in inimitable Anne Perry style, a startling new series set in this Interbellum period, that of Elena Standish.
I was struck by the almost mantra spoken of various ways throughout, Never Again, 'there should never be another war like the last one.' And one can sympathize with the British people in their memories of anguish, and their hopes that this had been the war to end all wars. We of course know differently. This works well into the way Perry's novel develops.
Strong female leads, old school staunch combatants, a family that has more than carried its share of secrets and heartbreak from WW1 into a new and welcomed age that on the surface seems all that was hoped for, and is in reality completely alien to those hopes. All give an authenticity to this pre World War II thriller!
A Random House ARC via NetGalley
Read
September 28, 2019I've read the first seven chapters and I'm not sure I'll finish this one. From the start, I've had a hard time relating to Elena, who's supposed to be the central character (her grandfather is much more appealing) and that was before she started behaving like a Gothic heroine who's TSTL (too stupid to live). I will read further, in the hope Ms. Perry will surprise me. She's a good writer and capable of pulling off a plot that, despite many twists and turns, proves logical in the end. Just now, though, I have my doubts.
November 4, 2019
As I settled into this novel from the great Anne Perry, which kicks off an all-new series, I expected a relaxing departure from her other work and perhaps a more laid-back sort of mystery involving a young woman who is a shutterbug, trekking across Europe. I could not have been more wrong.
DEATH IN FOCUS is set in the year 1933. World War I is in the past, but there is a fervor growing within a few European countries that shrewd political analysts would recognize as being the start of a confrontation that could only end with another war. Elena Standish, a 28-year-old camera aficionado, and her older sister, Margot, are enjoying a brief vacation from their British home on the beautiful Italian coast of Amalfi. Both are single. Elena just hasn't found the right guy, while Margot’s husband of one week was killed during the final month of WWI.
While mingling among the tourists, Elena makes the acquaintance of a nice young man, Ian Newton. They decide to get together for dinner that night as they are all young English citizens enjoying their last moments in Italy before heading home after a few stops. Ian brings along a friend, Walter Mann, to balance out the table, and they have a delightful night of dining, admiring the view and dancing. However, all of this innocent fun comes to an end when, as Ian is doing the gentlemanly thing by walking Elena to her room, they are interrupted by a blood-curdling scream coming from the balcony directly above them.
Upon entering the room she is about to clean, a housekeeper finds the body of a dead man. Once law enforcement arrives, they ask Elena and Ian if they knew the deceased. Each says no, but Elena is almost certain that Ian is lying. Thus, what could have been a lighthearted “cozy” type of murder mystery has begun with a dark turn and will lead to unexpected outcomes.
We then are taken to England, where Elena and Margot's family resides. Their parents, Charles and Katherine, are very close with their grandparents, Lucas and Josephine. As Perry expertly pulls back the layers of this novel, we learn that at one time Lucas had been a high-ranking figure in British intelligence. Josephine herself had an important and often clandestine role during the war. It is ironic that the family keeps most of what they know or had experienced to themselves, living a quiet life filled with secrets. It is only when Lucas is contacted by Peter Howard, a current high-ranking official in MI6, that we begin to realize that something big will be going down in Germany, where racial intolerance is about to boil over into full-blown violence on a grand scale and Lucas' assistance and expertise may be in demand.
As we return to Amalfi, Ian approaches Elena shortly after the murder at their hotel and asks her to accompany him on a visit to Berlin. He needs to leave immediately, and Elena jumps at the opportunity for further adventures and photo sightseeing. The train ride does not go as expected, though, the first of many brilliant twists scattered throughout the book like land mines.
Without leaking any spoilers, I can attest that nothing goes as planned for any of the central characters, and this may be the best plotted novel Anne Perry has written in years --- which is really saying something. DEATH IN FOCUS is a masterpiece of tension and suspense, and Elena Standish is so effective because she can be any one of us. Bravo!
Reviewed by Ray Palen
DEATH IN FOCUS is set in the year 1933. World War I is in the past, but there is a fervor growing within a few European countries that shrewd political analysts would recognize as being the start of a confrontation that could only end with another war. Elena Standish, a 28-year-old camera aficionado, and her older sister, Margot, are enjoying a brief vacation from their British home on the beautiful Italian coast of Amalfi. Both are single. Elena just hasn't found the right guy, while Margot’s husband of one week was killed during the final month of WWI.
While mingling among the tourists, Elena makes the acquaintance of a nice young man, Ian Newton. They decide to get together for dinner that night as they are all young English citizens enjoying their last moments in Italy before heading home after a few stops. Ian brings along a friend, Walter Mann, to balance out the table, and they have a delightful night of dining, admiring the view and dancing. However, all of this innocent fun comes to an end when, as Ian is doing the gentlemanly thing by walking Elena to her room, they are interrupted by a blood-curdling scream coming from the balcony directly above them.
Upon entering the room she is about to clean, a housekeeper finds the body of a dead man. Once law enforcement arrives, they ask Elena and Ian if they knew the deceased. Each says no, but Elena is almost certain that Ian is lying. Thus, what could have been a lighthearted “cozy” type of murder mystery has begun with a dark turn and will lead to unexpected outcomes.
We then are taken to England, where Elena and Margot's family resides. Their parents, Charles and Katherine, are very close with their grandparents, Lucas and Josephine. As Perry expertly pulls back the layers of this novel, we learn that at one time Lucas had been a high-ranking figure in British intelligence. Josephine herself had an important and often clandestine role during the war. It is ironic that the family keeps most of what they know or had experienced to themselves, living a quiet life filled with secrets. It is only when Lucas is contacted by Peter Howard, a current high-ranking official in MI6, that we begin to realize that something big will be going down in Germany, where racial intolerance is about to boil over into full-blown violence on a grand scale and Lucas' assistance and expertise may be in demand.
As we return to Amalfi, Ian approaches Elena shortly after the murder at their hotel and asks her to accompany him on a visit to Berlin. He needs to leave immediately, and Elena jumps at the opportunity for further adventures and photo sightseeing. The train ride does not go as expected, though, the first of many brilliant twists scattered throughout the book like land mines.
Without leaking any spoilers, I can attest that nothing goes as planned for any of the central characters, and this may be the best plotted novel Anne Perry has written in years --- which is really saying something. DEATH IN FOCUS is a masterpiece of tension and suspense, and Elena Standish is so effective because she can be any one of us. Bravo!
Reviewed by Ray Palen
August 28, 2019
First there were her Victorians and then her WWI thrillers, but the latest new series is set an exciting and edgy pre-dawn of WWII. An intrepid heroine who thought of herself as rather average and the family failure until a dying spy gives her a quest that sends her into the heart of the Nazis to save her country from war.
Elena Standish failed her family and herself when she fell in love with a man who betrayed their country and her. She was a top prospect for the foreign office and following in her father's footsteps until this err in judgment got her dismissed. Her father's disappointment and anger with her is still palpable and she doesn't blame him. She never was his favorite child after her flamboyant and gorgeous sister and her eager and fun brother. So she turns her focus to her photography gift and seeks to make something of that.
I enjoyed following along as Elena, scared and unsure, determined to do the right thing. She got lucky many times, but she also showed some temerity when most people would have been curled in a ball in the corner after experiencing what she did.
The author's gift to paint a strong and accurate backdrop and full-faceted culture of the time was as powerful as ever. I think it was what really pulled me into this book the most. Through Elena's eyes, the time before WWII in Berlin and greater Germany and Europe was laid out, turbulent and terrifying for some and still recovering from the last Great War for all. There was cruelty and fear and a world gone crazy as she witnessed a book burning, the 'brown shirts' (Hitler followers) who are little better than street thugs bullying regular citizens, the insane people in power around Hitler, torture of anyone not perfectly Aryan or willing to tow the party line.
Then there was the tolerance and looking the other way to prevent war 'at any cost' attitude among the English was tough to read. It was chilling how many in power actually supported Hitler because they feared the communists as worse. I get their feelings of terror and revulsion of another World War since many of those people lost loved ones and some hit harder with multiple losses like Elena's brother dying in the war and also her sister Margot's husband. They really thought there was a chance to keep the peace.
Beyond Elena's amateur espionage adventure into Germany, this book had strong secondary story lines involving the rest of her family from her secretive grandparents and their ties to MI-6, her parents with their diplomatic ties, her sister trying to stay on top of her grief and help Elena, and the slew of other characters peopling this one. I could see where the large cast of characters were introduced and will be an ongoing part of the series.
I figured out the who easily, but I was surprised as to the why when it came to the murders. This read like a thriller and there was some exciting series of climaxes including the final one that revealed all. The book ended somewhat abruptly, but didn't leave any major plot threads go unanswered.
All in all, I'm pretty excited about this new series and can't wait for more murder and espionage in the next book. Historical mystery/thriller fans should definitely give this one a look see.
I rec'd this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
COYER Summer Scavenger Hunt Clue- 'death' in the title 3pts.
Elena Standish failed her family and herself when she fell in love with a man who betrayed their country and her. She was a top prospect for the foreign office and following in her father's footsteps until this err in judgment got her dismissed. Her father's disappointment and anger with her is still palpable and she doesn't blame him. She never was his favorite child after her flamboyant and gorgeous sister and her eager and fun brother. So she turns her focus to her photography gift and seeks to make something of that.
I enjoyed following along as Elena, scared and unsure, determined to do the right thing. She got lucky many times, but she also showed some temerity when most people would have been curled in a ball in the corner after experiencing what she did.
The author's gift to paint a strong and accurate backdrop and full-faceted culture of the time was as powerful as ever. I think it was what really pulled me into this book the most. Through Elena's eyes, the time before WWII in Berlin and greater Germany and Europe was laid out, turbulent and terrifying for some and still recovering from the last Great War for all. There was cruelty and fear and a world gone crazy as she witnessed a book burning, the 'brown shirts' (Hitler followers) who are little better than street thugs bullying regular citizens, the insane people in power around Hitler, torture of anyone not perfectly Aryan or willing to tow the party line.
Then there was the tolerance and looking the other way to prevent war 'at any cost' attitude among the English was tough to read. It was chilling how many in power actually supported Hitler because they feared the communists as worse. I get their feelings of terror and revulsion of another World War since many of those people lost loved ones and some hit harder with multiple losses like Elena's brother dying in the war and also her sister Margot's husband. They really thought there was a chance to keep the peace.
Beyond Elena's amateur espionage adventure into Germany, this book had strong secondary story lines involving the rest of her family from her secretive grandparents and their ties to MI-6, her parents with their diplomatic ties, her sister trying to stay on top of her grief and help Elena, and the slew of other characters peopling this one. I could see where the large cast of characters were introduced and will be an ongoing part of the series.
I figured out the who easily, but I was surprised as to the why when it came to the murders. This read like a thriller and there was some exciting series of climaxes including the final one that revealed all. The book ended somewhat abruptly, but didn't leave any major plot threads go unanswered.
All in all, I'm pretty excited about this new series and can't wait for more murder and espionage in the next book. Historical mystery/thriller fans should definitely give this one a look see.
I rec'd this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
COYER Summer Scavenger Hunt Clue- 'death' in the title 3pts.
September 24, 2019
Hurrah! I'm so happy that Ms Perry has discovered Elena and her family (I want to see/read more about her wildly conventional sister Margot, her utterly conservative parents, Katherine and Charles (names of 2 of my siblings) to say nothing of her hardy and intriguing grandparents Josephine and Lucas (and the dog, Toby).
Upon finishing the book, I at first thought "This is as much a broad introduction to Elena and her place in her geographical and demographic milieu as a mystery." But the actual plot and action of the story reliably set the reader into 1933-35 Britain and Europe (politics, social mores, ethnic conflicts, a wee bit of romance) and carry us on a well-colored progression of situations, and almost enough about photojournalism (more, please!!).
I am afraid to say too much more about this.... Death in Focus is as good as Anne Perry gets, and it is definitely NOT chick lit. I wish I could wipe it out of my mind so I could read it anew.
Upon finishing the book, I at first thought "This is as much a broad introduction to Elena and her place in her geographical and demographic milieu as a mystery." But the actual plot and action of the story reliably set the reader into 1933-35 Britain and Europe (politics, social mores, ethnic conflicts, a wee bit of romance) and carry us on a well-colored progression of situations, and almost enough about photojournalism (more, please!!).
I am afraid to say too much more about this.... Death in Focus is as good as Anne Perry gets, and it is definitely NOT chick lit. I wish I could wipe it out of my mind so I could read it anew.
September 18, 2023
1933. Berlin, essentiellement. Et quelques autres lieux, où pas mal de meurtres se succèdent. Mais Berlin concentre l'intérêt. Montée du sinistre Führer, création de la Gestapo, toute puissance des jeunes fanatiques illettrés et brutaux déguisés en chemises brunes. Et une intrigue, entre polar et espionnage. En fait un grand tour de passe-passe de Anne Perry, talentueuse mystificatrice. Qui nous balade où elle veut, jusqu'à une petite entrevue avec Hitler et l'infâme Goebbels - tant qu'à faire autant papoter avec les numéros 1 et 2 du moment et de l'endroit- et transforme un fait divers crapuleux en cavale passionnante.
January 26, 2021
Death in Focus is a new mystery series by Anne Perry set in pre-World War II Europe in 1933. Elana Standish is a photographer who traveled to Amalfi Italy with her sister for a vacation. Elena meets Ian Newton and falls in love with him. While traveling on a train to Paris, he is murdered. He leaves her a dying message that she is to deliver to the British Embassy in Berlin Germany.
In England, her home, her diplomat father, Charles and secretive grandfather, Lucas who was once head of the MI6 become involved wit the events happening in Europe. They find out that Elena has gotten into trouble in Berlin and that there are horrors already happening with the rise of Adolf Hitler and the 3rd Reich. Three mysterious murders have occurred, and Elena is in the center of them.
Anne Perry has written an interesting mystery surrounding a time period where real events have occurred as described in this book. We come to understand how such an evil man became the choice of the people and was elected to govern Germany in the 1930’s. With Anne Perry’s story, we follow how small choices of turning the other way, and the consequences from refusing to see evil happened so easily.
This series is different from the Pitt and Monk books, but I found it an interesting start to a new series. I would like to read more about some of the characters.
In England, her home, her diplomat father, Charles and secretive grandfather, Lucas who was once head of the MI6 become involved wit the events happening in Europe. They find out that Elena has gotten into trouble in Berlin and that there are horrors already happening with the rise of Adolf Hitler and the 3rd Reich. Three mysterious murders have occurred, and Elena is in the center of them.
Anne Perry has written an interesting mystery surrounding a time period where real events have occurred as described in this book. We come to understand how such an evil man became the choice of the people and was elected to govern Germany in the 1930’s. With Anne Perry’s story, we follow how small choices of turning the other way, and the consequences from refusing to see evil happened so easily.
This series is different from the Pitt and Monk books, but I found it an interesting start to a new series. I would like to read more about some of the characters.
March 21, 2025
1933 Berlin
It took me a while to get into this historical mystery, but eventually I did. The very end (final 15 minutes) was my favorite part. I will likely continue the series.
Nice job by the narrator.
It took me a while to get into this historical mystery, but eventually I did. The very end (final 15 minutes) was my favorite part. I will likely continue the series.
Nice job by the narrator.
August 24, 2022
I am not a reader of much historical fiction; it largely leaves a bad taste in my mouth. However, my book club picked Death in Focus and I was intrigued. It looked like a decent plot written by a well-known author; however, my meager expectations were dashed into smithereens by the pathetic absurdities of this book. The author seems to have confused intrigue with coincidence, because our main character, Elena, (if she can be called a character, she has about as much development and definition as finely ground flour left scattered over the counter), has the unfortunate luck to accidentally date a foreign spy, she then has the unfortunate luck to become infatuated with an MI6 agent, then she has the unfortunate luck of being framed, etc etc. Additionally, her grandfather and father just happen to have been very high up in the foreign office and MI6, of course, that has minimal bearing on the plot. She just happens to know the diplomat the Berlin office. She just happens to run into an American journalist who happens to know people that she can stay with. I digress.
Can we talk about the historicity of the book? Perry tries to create the ambiance of the interwar years, and the British reluctance to engage negatively with Germany. Her characters and their reasons for wanting to avoid war tend to be horridly flat, boring, repetitive, and non-compelling. With as much extraneous time as the author dedicates to theme of ‘Never Again’ she should have been able to develop a convincing or compelling argument. This did not occur.
This might just be a personal qualm, but the author had the very bad taste to include Winston Churchill has a side character. It was entirely unnecessary and poor in execution. (Do we really think WC would have just grunted in conversation, rather than making use of his verbose powers?)
The book is set in 1933, the year that Hitler came to power, yet we already have talk of Jews being rounded into concentration camps. The Nazis did start the concentration camp program in 1933, but it was limited largely to political opponents and on a very small scale. It wasn’t until several years later, around 1938, that the program really took off. So that is absurd. Additionally, some senior members of Elena’s coincidentally well-connected family are very supportive of homosexuals, and that is simply ahistorical (Insert Alan Turing).
The laughability of the plot becomes more apparent when you realize that the entire purpose of Elena’s journey to Berlin could have been avoided by the use of cipher or diplomatic communique. The book is set in 1933 not 1890, Ian Newton should have known that it was ridiculous that MI6 would contact him that he needed to go to Berlin to inform the diplomat to avoid an assassination, when MI6 could have easily contacted the embassy through established channels. The plot holes are so big, you forget that this book has a plot.
If it wasn’t for the fact that this was a book club pick, I would have set this down by chapter three.
Can we talk about the historicity of the book? Perry tries to create the ambiance of the interwar years, and the British reluctance to engage negatively with Germany. Her characters and their reasons for wanting to avoid war tend to be horridly flat, boring, repetitive, and non-compelling. With as much extraneous time as the author dedicates to theme of ‘Never Again’ she should have been able to develop a convincing or compelling argument. This did not occur.
This might just be a personal qualm, but the author had the very bad taste to include Winston Churchill has a side character. It was entirely unnecessary and poor in execution. (Do we really think WC would have just grunted in conversation, rather than making use of his verbose powers?)
The book is set in 1933, the year that Hitler came to power, yet we already have talk of Jews being rounded into concentration camps. The Nazis did start the concentration camp program in 1933, but it was limited largely to political opponents and on a very small scale. It wasn’t until several years later, around 1938, that the program really took off. So that is absurd. Additionally, some senior members of Elena’s coincidentally well-connected family are very supportive of homosexuals, and that is simply ahistorical (Insert Alan Turing).
The laughability of the plot becomes more apparent when you realize that the entire purpose of Elena’s journey to Berlin could have been avoided by the use of cipher or diplomatic communique. The book is set in 1933 not 1890, Ian Newton should have known that it was ridiculous that MI6 would contact him that he needed to go to Berlin to inform the diplomat to avoid an assassination, when MI6 could have easily contacted the embassy through established channels. The plot holes are so big, you forget that this book has a plot.
If it wasn’t for the fact that this was a book club pick, I would have set this down by chapter three.
September 20, 2019
I received a free electronic ARC copy of this British suspense novel from Netgalley, Anne Perry, and Random House - Ballantine. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work.
Anne Perry brings us another excellent suspense series! Death in Focus is the first in a series featuring Elena Standish, hopeful photographer, set in the pre-WWII year 1933 in England, Germany and a bit of France and Italy. Elena is the focus of our story and we see her often through the eyes of her grandfather, Lucas. She is the youngest child of Charles and Katherine Standish, granddaughter of Lucas and Josephine Standish.
The Great War was very hard on the Standish family. Margot, the eldest of the grandchildren of Lucas and Josephine lost her new husband during the closing battles of WWI. She is the adventurous of the Standish sisters, a bit forward and independent. Then was son Mike, killed in action the same day as Margot's husband. Grandparents Lucas and Josephine did their part in the conflict -Josephine decoding messages, and Lucas with the then totally secret MI6, Military Intelligence. Their involvement was, of course, clandestine so the family was not aware of their sacrifices and because Lucas stayed with MI6 and eventually ran it, Charles had only a vague idea of his father's post-war employment with the government. Charles works in the diplomatic corp and wife Katherine, an American, plays the diplomats other-half very well. Then we have Elena. Elena is the more sedate, grounded daughter of the Standish clan. Or so most of them thought...
This is an excellent tale. As always, Anne Perry puts us in those shoes, on that train, wearing that red dress. We feel the hunger, the fear, the frustration. This is a book that is hard to put down. Anne Perry is an author to binge on. One or two books are never enough to satisfy. I need to read them all...
Pub date Sept 17, 2019
Random House - Ballantine
Reviewed on Sept 19, 2019, at Goodreads, Netgalley, AmazonSmile, Barnes & Noble, BookBub, and GooglePlay. Not able to review on Kobo?
Anne Perry brings us another excellent suspense series! Death in Focus is the first in a series featuring Elena Standish, hopeful photographer, set in the pre-WWII year 1933 in England, Germany and a bit of France and Italy. Elena is the focus of our story and we see her often through the eyes of her grandfather, Lucas. She is the youngest child of Charles and Katherine Standish, granddaughter of Lucas and Josephine Standish.
The Great War was very hard on the Standish family. Margot, the eldest of the grandchildren of Lucas and Josephine lost her new husband during the closing battles of WWI. She is the adventurous of the Standish sisters, a bit forward and independent. Then was son Mike, killed in action the same day as Margot's husband. Grandparents Lucas and Josephine did their part in the conflict -Josephine decoding messages, and Lucas with the then totally secret MI6, Military Intelligence. Their involvement was, of course, clandestine so the family was not aware of their sacrifices and because Lucas stayed with MI6 and eventually ran it, Charles had only a vague idea of his father's post-war employment with the government. Charles works in the diplomatic corp and wife Katherine, an American, plays the diplomats other-half very well. Then we have Elena. Elena is the more sedate, grounded daughter of the Standish clan. Or so most of them thought...
This is an excellent tale. As always, Anne Perry puts us in those shoes, on that train, wearing that red dress. We feel the hunger, the fear, the frustration. This is a book that is hard to put down. Anne Perry is an author to binge on. One or two books are never enough to satisfy. I need to read them all...
Pub date Sept 17, 2019
Random House - Ballantine
Reviewed on Sept 19, 2019, at Goodreads, Netgalley, AmazonSmile, Barnes & Noble, BookBub, and GooglePlay. Not able to review on Kobo?
December 1, 2019
I was glad to see that Perry was escaping from her Victorian and Edwardian series (although more William Monk and Hester Latterly are always welcome). There are a lot of similar novels set in the time that this novel occurs (between the wars and at the beginning of the Second World War) and I had hope that Perry would create a good one, but I didn't like this book. The adventure never seems to end--every time the protagonist turns around, yet another life-threatening even occurs; it's like The Perils of Pauline. It seems contrived and wildly plot-driven; the unreality of the plot overtakes the characters, who would otherwise be interesting to learn more about. Miracles occur and people show up just in time to save the day without enough development behind it all. Characters appear, disappear, reappear, serving a plot purpose and then the story moves on. I suppose this is the set-up for a series, as it is parenthetically called "Elena Standish #1." I won't be along for the ride on this constant roller coaster.
August 30, 2020
Disappointing. I was hoping for a crackling suspense story with a frightened, resourceful credible heroine, but instead found a not very bright young woman who makes impulsive and foolish decisions, thereby immersing herself in more trouble than she could ever get out of in real life. Fortunately for her, a forgiving author presents her with numerous fortuitous lifelines which enable her to survive, unbelievably (seriously), and in good enough shape to go on to the next installment of what will apparently be a series. I would wish you good luck, Elena, but you won't need it since you have Ms. Perry always available to bail you out of whatever predicaments you get into.
July 3, 2019
Death in Focus by Anne Perry is an amazing, gripping, suspenseful, and fabulous historical fiction/mystery novel. This is the first in a series (with hopefully many more books to come) involving Elena Standish. We are first introduced to her with hints of a recent past of an honest mistake that may have had multiple repercussions (Ms Perry does not show all her cards on this one which is exciting as it can be used to draw on for future material) and trying to find herself and pick up the pieces by delving into photography and being hired to take pictures of a conference in Italy with her polar opposite older sister Margot.
Unfortunately everyone (including her father Charles, and her beloved Grandparents Lucas and Josephine who were themselves involved /still involved in MI6/secret service) has been drawn into a complicated (but intriguing and delicious) mystery that involves murders, double crossings, espionage, and cat/mouse activities across several countries during the early 1930s, just as Hitler is coming onto the scene and Germany is undergoing a new identity. Nothing is what it seems, and no one is sure who to trust in this impressive story.
I love Elena and I honestly feel that I can relate to her. She is imperfect, makes mistakes, yet has a strong moral compass, and has loyalty that cannot be shaken. She is a realist and is intelligent, but also admits to making errors past and present. I love how she stands on her own, despite the fact that at this time, female self reliance and independence was not encouraged.
I love the complicated dynamics between Elena and Margot and Elena and her father Charles, as well as between Charles and his parents. I can’t wait to see how these relationships develop.
I leave out the rest of the synopsis as it will give away too much, and as the reader can see for themselves, but trust me when I say it is so worth it.
5/5 stars. One of the best books I have read this year.
Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased review and opinion.
Unfortunately everyone (including her father Charles, and her beloved Grandparents Lucas and Josephine who were themselves involved /still involved in MI6/secret service) has been drawn into a complicated (but intriguing and delicious) mystery that involves murders, double crossings, espionage, and cat/mouse activities across several countries during the early 1930s, just as Hitler is coming onto the scene and Germany is undergoing a new identity. Nothing is what it seems, and no one is sure who to trust in this impressive story.
I love Elena and I honestly feel that I can relate to her. She is imperfect, makes mistakes, yet has a strong moral compass, and has loyalty that cannot be shaken. She is a realist and is intelligent, but also admits to making errors past and present. I love how she stands on her own, despite the fact that at this time, female self reliance and independence was not encouraged.
I love the complicated dynamics between Elena and Margot and Elena and her father Charles, as well as between Charles and his parents. I can’t wait to see how these relationships develop.
I leave out the rest of the synopsis as it will give away too much, and as the reader can see for themselves, but trust me when I say it is so worth it.
5/5 stars. One of the best books I have read this year.
Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased review and opinion.
January 30, 2021
It has been awhile since I read an Anne Perry novel and I reminded myself why after I had picked up 'Death in Focus'. I was dismayed at the gullibility of leading lady Elena Standish, a photographer with no idea of forward planning or the consequences of trusting strangers. Author Perry constantly reiterates the horrors of war and losing loved ones and the fear of another war until I thought 'Enough already, I get it, just move the story forward.' There were some exciting parts, and having family members who were involved in WWII it was nice to get a mature perspective, but boring reading what Elena’s father thought or what Winston Churchill said while building a brick wall, and supposed MI6 dialogues with spies and famous personages. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I have now reached overload on first half of 20th century war stories, feisty women or not. My copy of 'Death in Focus' was a library loan and I would like to send an angry-face to the person before me who folded page corners all the way through the book instead of using a bookmark.
September 21, 2019
Death in Focus is between a 3.5 and 4 star for me, but because I think this new series has potential, I'm rounding up to 4.
I've read Perry for years (decades?), and enjoy her work. This protagonist (Elena Standish) has a lot of potential, but I'd like this story to have given me a little more backstory about her so that I could begin to form my own opinion about what brings her to the literary table. Also, it seems that Perry's stories are containing an increasing amount of inner dialogue. Sometimes it works, but not all of it worked for me in Death in Focus.
I'm "over" Nazi stories, which seem to be novel-du-jour right now, but Perry manages to make this one fresh. Given that this is fiction, I didn't mind my "willing suspension of disbelief," and Death in Focus certainly requires that, particularly toward the end.
Recommended, and I look forward to seeing what Perry does with the next book in this series.
I've read Perry for years (decades?), and enjoy her work. This protagonist (Elena Standish) has a lot of potential, but I'd like this story to have given me a little more backstory about her so that I could begin to form my own opinion about what brings her to the literary table. Also, it seems that Perry's stories are containing an increasing amount of inner dialogue. Sometimes it works, but not all of it worked for me in Death in Focus.
I'm "over" Nazi stories, which seem to be novel-du-jour right now, but Perry manages to make this one fresh. Given that this is fiction, I didn't mind my "willing suspension of disbelief," and Death in Focus certainly requires that, particularly toward the end.
Recommended, and I look forward to seeing what Perry does with the next book in this series.
January 14, 2022
It's 1933 and the First World War has taken a great toll of all of England. Elena Standish had had a horrific romance with a man who was a traitor. Elena had no idea. Her father, Charles, a British ambassador, felt she had been an embarrassment as well as naive. Her Grandfather Lucas, a secret member of MI6, considers her so much like himself. Her older sister, Margot, lost her husband during the war. Their young brother Michael was also killed. While photographing a meeting on the Amalfi Coast, Elena meets and falls in love with a journalist, Ian Newton. On their travels together, he is shot, and his dying words are an urgent message for his supervisor in Berlin. Elena knows the dangers of entering Hitler's world, but she feels that she must make the delivery. This is definitely a thriller!
June 14, 2019
A decent effort by grande dame of historical mysteries, though I expected more, much more of this new series by the masterful Anne Perry, one of my favorite authors. The pre-WWII world period of 1930's Europe is well-trod land these days in historical mystery writing, so the bar is set high. The thoughtful, often prolonged, inner dialogue that is effective in Perry's other fiction is not as well suited in this more modern setting here. Characters are thinly drawn, and the plot teeters a bit. All in all, I would recommend this story, but it falls short of the excellence usually delivered by Perry. Perhaps future books in this series will develop the richness of character, plot, and setting that her fans have come to expect.
June 1, 2020
Awful. No plot and cardboard characters. Would have been a DNF if Corona wasn't happening.
September 10, 2020
Originally published at Reading Reality
Today is Veterans Day in the U.S. and Remembrance Day in the U.K. and other Commonwealth countries. On this day in 1919, “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month”, the guns of World War I finally went silent.
I don’t usually post a review on this day, but this marvelous book dropped into my lap, and it seemed so perversely relevant to the day that I couldn’t help myself.
Death in Focus does not take place during the Great War, but the war and its aftermath directly influences everything that happens within it. Both because all of the characters are still scarred by the war well over a decade later, but also because the seeds of World War II were sown in the treaty that ended World War I.
But that’s something that is taken as a given now. One of the things that underpins this story is that those seeds were sown on both sides of that first conflict. The punishing reparations inflicted upon Germany as the losing side set up the desperate economic conditions that fueled Hitler’s rise to power.
The brutal death toll on the winning side, particularly in Great Britain, led to the tragic appeasement tactics of the interwar years. Britain had lost an entire generation of young men, and few of the survivors were willing to entertain the possibility that all of those sacrifices might be in vain. Many, including those in government, were willing to tolerate anything, no matter how heinous, in order to preserve the fragile peace.
Not that there weren’t plenty of people in Britain, including Duke of Windsor (the former King Edward VIII) who sympathized with entirely too many of Hitler’s goals, including the concept of the Aryans as the so-called “master race” along with the willingness to eliminate any people who were not part of that “race”. A belief that led to the concentration camps and the gas chambers.
While Death in Focus doesn’t deal directly with the factions in Britain who believed that the concentration camp opened at Dachau in 1933 (when this story takes place) were just a good start, it does give insight into those, both in government and out, who simply could not face the idea of another war because they lost so much in the last war and couldn’t even bear the idea of doing it again.
So, the story of Death in Focus operates on two fronts. One is the story that follows Elena Standish as she finds herself in the midst of Nazi Germany on the run from both the Gestapo and the British Foreign Service, betrayed by her own country and framed for a crime that she did not commit.
Meanwhile, back on the home front, her father and grandfather are at loggerheads, and not just about Elena’s current plight.
Her father is a senior official in the diplomatic service who is certain that his father, a paper pusher during the first war, can’t possibly know what the current situation in Germany – or anywhere else – is really like. That the old man can’t possibly understand why so many, including himself, will do anything to prevent another war. And that both Hitler and Mussolini are actually doing good things for their countries that shouldn’t be interfered with from the outside.
But granddad is actually the retired head of MI6. He knows perfectly well what happened during the first war, and still has his finger on the pulse of current events around the world. He is certain that another war is coming and is beyond worried that his beloved granddaughter seems to have been unwittingly caught up in it.
Escape Rating A: As much as I got completely wrapped up in this story, I have to admit that what grabbed me wasn’t Elena, even though this is the first book in a projected series that will follow her exploits.
Exploits that remind me more than a bit of those of Maisie Dobbs, particularly in Journey to Munich, where Maisie was undercover in Nazi Germany in 1938. Although Maisie’s official cover doesn’t fail quite as badly as the way that Elena gets dumped in the soup.
Instead, the fascination for me with Death in Focus was on the home front, with her grandfather’s internal conflict. He has kept his secrets for so long, to the point where he and his son have become estranged, because he knows the war is coming and his son, in grief over his own wartime losses, needs desperately to stick his head in the sand and believe that the peace will last. Their characters and their dilemma resonated more for me, perhaps because they felt more fully developed as characters. Elena, like Maisie Dobbs in the first book in her series, has a lot of development yet to come.
In spite of his diplomatic service, her father doesn’t see what is going on because he doesn’t want to see. And in his willful blindness we see the same in plenty of others, including the government of Neville Chamberlain. Hindsight is not only 20/20, but it is downright painful.
At the same time, this is a murder mystery. Elena seems to be trailing dead bodies behind her, and she doesn’t know why. She only knows that she herself is not the killer. So there is a traditional mystery to solve, albeit in very nontraditional circumstances.
In the end, many characters discover that things are not quite as they seem. Including everything that Elena believed about her trip to Berlin and what she discovered. And that while revenge is still a dish best served cold, sometimes the chef for that dish misjudges their enemies and finds themselves served instead.
Today is Veterans Day in the U.S. and Remembrance Day in the U.K. and other Commonwealth countries. On this day in 1919, “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month”, the guns of World War I finally went silent.
I don’t usually post a review on this day, but this marvelous book dropped into my lap, and it seemed so perversely relevant to the day that I couldn’t help myself.
Death in Focus does not take place during the Great War, but the war and its aftermath directly influences everything that happens within it. Both because all of the characters are still scarred by the war well over a decade later, but also because the seeds of World War II were sown in the treaty that ended World War I.
But that’s something that is taken as a given now. One of the things that underpins this story is that those seeds were sown on both sides of that first conflict. The punishing reparations inflicted upon Germany as the losing side set up the desperate economic conditions that fueled Hitler’s rise to power.
The brutal death toll on the winning side, particularly in Great Britain, led to the tragic appeasement tactics of the interwar years. Britain had lost an entire generation of young men, and few of the survivors were willing to entertain the possibility that all of those sacrifices might be in vain. Many, including those in government, were willing to tolerate anything, no matter how heinous, in order to preserve the fragile peace.
Not that there weren’t plenty of people in Britain, including Duke of Windsor (the former King Edward VIII) who sympathized with entirely too many of Hitler’s goals, including the concept of the Aryans as the so-called “master race” along with the willingness to eliminate any people who were not part of that “race”. A belief that led to the concentration camps and the gas chambers.
While Death in Focus doesn’t deal directly with the factions in Britain who believed that the concentration camp opened at Dachau in 1933 (when this story takes place) were just a good start, it does give insight into those, both in government and out, who simply could not face the idea of another war because they lost so much in the last war and couldn’t even bear the idea of doing it again.
So, the story of Death in Focus operates on two fronts. One is the story that follows Elena Standish as she finds herself in the midst of Nazi Germany on the run from both the Gestapo and the British Foreign Service, betrayed by her own country and framed for a crime that she did not commit.
Meanwhile, back on the home front, her father and grandfather are at loggerheads, and not just about Elena’s current plight.
Her father is a senior official in the diplomatic service who is certain that his father, a paper pusher during the first war, can’t possibly know what the current situation in Germany – or anywhere else – is really like. That the old man can’t possibly understand why so many, including himself, will do anything to prevent another war. And that both Hitler and Mussolini are actually doing good things for their countries that shouldn’t be interfered with from the outside.
But granddad is actually the retired head of MI6. He knows perfectly well what happened during the first war, and still has his finger on the pulse of current events around the world. He is certain that another war is coming and is beyond worried that his beloved granddaughter seems to have been unwittingly caught up in it.
Escape Rating A: As much as I got completely wrapped up in this story, I have to admit that what grabbed me wasn’t Elena, even though this is the first book in a projected series that will follow her exploits.
Exploits that remind me more than a bit of those of Maisie Dobbs, particularly in Journey to Munich, where Maisie was undercover in Nazi Germany in 1938. Although Maisie’s official cover doesn’t fail quite as badly as the way that Elena gets dumped in the soup.
Instead, the fascination for me with Death in Focus was on the home front, with her grandfather’s internal conflict. He has kept his secrets for so long, to the point where he and his son have become estranged, because he knows the war is coming and his son, in grief over his own wartime losses, needs desperately to stick his head in the sand and believe that the peace will last. Their characters and their dilemma resonated more for me, perhaps because they felt more fully developed as characters. Elena, like Maisie Dobbs in the first book in her series, has a lot of development yet to come.
In spite of his diplomatic service, her father doesn’t see what is going on because he doesn’t want to see. And in his willful blindness we see the same in plenty of others, including the government of Neville Chamberlain. Hindsight is not only 20/20, but it is downright painful.
At the same time, this is a murder mystery. Elena seems to be trailing dead bodies behind her, and she doesn’t know why. She only knows that she herself is not the killer. So there is a traditional mystery to solve, albeit in very nontraditional circumstances.
In the end, many characters discover that things are not quite as they seem. Including everything that Elena believed about her trip to Berlin and what she discovered. And that while revenge is still a dish best served cold, sometimes the chef for that dish misjudges their enemies and finds themselves served instead.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 602 reviews